The field of this invention relates to an electrical connector assembly for establishing an electrically conductive path between two or more closely spaced electrical conducting terminal posts, which are normally arranged in a row.
A simplified definition of a bus, in regard to electronics, is a conductor, or a group of conductors, which serve as a common connection for two or more circuits. The group of conductors normally takes the shape of elongated prong-like members. The prong-like members are attached to a solid base which resembles the shape of a bar, hence the term "bus bar".
Buses can be any given size. A bus bar includes a base, one side of which includes some type of electrical circuitry, such as a printed circuit board. The elongated prong-like members protrude from the opposite side of the base. A single bus bar can utilize two terminal posts or a substantial number of terminal posts. In most instances, the spacing between the directly adjacent terminal posts is identical. Also, terminal posts are arranged in a plurality of rows.
In the past, it has been desirable to design an electrical connection between one terminal post and another. Such electrical connectors have taken numerous forms, such as, for example, a bare wire being wrapped around each terminal post and extending therebetween. Also, numerous types of clips have been previously used.
It would be most desirable to construct such a clip out of a material having the highest electrical conductivity. A desirable type of material would be substantially pure copper. This means that a greater amount of electrical current can be conducted per the cross-sectional area of the electrical connector if substantially pure copper is utilized.
However, pure copper has one primary disadvantage, that being that it has no resiliency. In other words, if pure copper is bent, it will stay in that bent configuration.
In the constructing of an electrical connector between two or more terminal posts, it is common for the clip to include a certain amount of resiliency so that it is continuously biased into tight engagement with the terminal posts so as to maintain a tight electrical connection therebetween. This biasing action is obtained by slightly deforming, or bending, of the clip from its normal at rest position when being connected to the terminal post. The clip, in turn, is biased into tight engagement with the terminal post.
In the past, in order to achieve this desired amount of resiliency, a copper alloy has been employed, rather than pure copper. In the past, a desirable form of copper alloy has been beryllium copper. However, even though a copper alloy is used, the electrical conductivity is substantially diminished from that of pure copper. Beryllium copper has an electrical conductivity of about one-fourth of that of substantially pure copper. This means that a pure copper connector only needs to be one-fourth in cross-sectional size than a beryllium copper connector in order to carry the same electrical current.
In recent years, printed circuit boards and bus bars have become smaller in size. Because of this small size, it is necessary to use small electrical connectors. A substantially smaller electrical connector could be utilized if a substantially pure copper electrical connector is used. Because of the necessary resiliency that is needed, there as been an inherent size limiting factor that was necessary in order to achieve the desired electrical current carrying capability.